RADIO
Opening Day part two, anyone? I know it happened yesterday, but the Reds and Nationals are gung-ho on the name, seeing as they got rained out yesterday. Every team is in action today and that's a beautiful thing. Hopefully the weather holds up around the country, as March games prove to be a little trickier for the grounds crews to manage.
I love to throw some Vegas insights in this section before we dig into player analysis, but I know there's going to be some notable line movement once the lineups are announced. I'll come back an update this section with over/unders and line movement Friday afternoon.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy baseball lineup picks for FanDuel on 3/30/18. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays.
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FanDuel DFS Pitchers
This early in the season, we only have primary stats for these pitchers from last season - so there is some educated guesswork - but it's much more valuable than going off your hunches or only using Vegas data. I also don't put too much stock in Spring Training numbers, so you won't see any referenced here.
Max Scherzer - SP, WAS @ CIN (FD - $11,100)
In all honesty, I was expecting a better crop of pitchers today than the ones we have to choose from. Perhaps they aren't that dissapointing, they just pale in comparison to Mad Max's skills and drive. In cash games today (and tournaments if you can get creative with lineup money), Max is the number one option for a good reason. He struggled a tad down the stretch last year, but he threw an incredible number of innings so I don't put too much stuck in that down-slide. With a rested arm and a desire to lead the Nationals into the post-season once again, I have a feeling Scherzer is going to be just a little fired up today. Last season, he allowed just .9 home runs a game with a fantastic K/9 mark of over 12 and, on average, pitched nearly seven innings per game. He's a stud and a workhorse - a beautiful combination in daily fantasy baseball.
Nick Pivetta - SP, PHI @ ATL (FD - $6,300)
Cash game players, this is your queue to head down to the infielders section - because Pivetta is in no way a safe play tonight. What he does offer, however, supersedes the risk he brings. Last season, he posted a really strong K/9 mark of 9.6 and has had an extra year now in the Phillies system to work on his command. The big right-hander can bring it, and I think the litany of other options and Pivetta's not so attractive HR/9 will scare others away. If he can punch out 6-8 batters and keep the pitch count low enough to go six, those who have rostered him will have enormous upside in tournaments. Not to mention, the super low price will allow you to completely load up on stud bats.
FanDuel DFS Infielders
Willson Contreras - C, CHC @ MIA (FD - $3,300)
I hope you don't grow tired of his name early, because you'll be seeing it often in my write-ups. There is so much to like about his overall game (especially offensively) and his development as a player. Contreras has a great matchup today (as do the rest of his teammates) and he especially loves crushing southpaw pitching. In 2017, he posted incredible splits against lefties, including .400 wOBA, .250 ISO, and a .537 slugging percentage. And the fact that he posted those power numbers with just a 21% strikeout rate is pretty damn impressive.
Paul Goldschmidt - 1B, ARI vs COL (FD - $4,500)
You're going to want to fit Mr. Goldschmidt into your lineups because he has one of the best day two pitching matchups. Tyler Anderson could get into a lot of trouble against this middle of this order with their powerful righty bats in a very strong hitter's park in Arizona. I'm so high on Goldschmidt today for a few reasons - his spot in the order, the plus ballpark for hitters, and namely his .430 wOBA and .287 ISO splits against southpaws over the past 12 months.
Cesar Hernandez - 2B, PHI @ ATL (FD - $2,800)
Second base is normally one of my favorite spots (if not THE favorite) to spend down and look for value plays. Today is no different, and the one that sticks out most is Hernandez. I especially like to pluck value plays that hit at the top of the lineup and are in plus parks for hitters - and Hernandez checks both of those boxes for me. The switch-hitting Hernandez has posted a pretty strong wOBA split over the past year against righties with a .354 mark and the fact that he's a threat to steal bases only adds to his allure on Friday.
Kris Bryant - 3B, CHC @ MIA (FD - $4,400)
It might be a pitcher's park, but the Cubs lit up the sky yesterday in Miami and I think we're going to see a decent amount of that this year with the atrocious staff the Marlins are rolling with. Today, I definitely want exposure to Kris Bryant against Caleb Smith. In the past 12 months, Smith has allowed more than two home runs per nine innings of work. Bryant should be able to tattoo him Friday night, seeing as he's excellent at against lefties over the past 12 months with a .414 wOBA and a .223 ISO split.
Trevor Story - SS, COL @ ARI (FD - $3,000)
Story has one of the borderline tougher matchups of day two, but I have a whole lot of interest in Trevor in tournaments. I think would-be Story owners will be a bit scared off by the Robbie Ray matchup, but take a look at Story's numbers against southpaws last season and tell me you wouldn't want some shares of this likely-to-be-low-owned stud: .404 wOBA, .328 ISO and a .611 slugging percentage. Are those numbers a little inflated from Coors? Sure they are, but Arizona is a very friendly hitters park, too.
FanDuel DFS Outfielders
Adam Eaton - OF, WAS @ CIN (FD - $3,100)
Like the case with Cesar Hernandez, Eaton is a leadoff hitter who has a lot of value today and upside to boot. Yes, he's coming off a season lost to injury, but he looked comfortable in the Spring and has told reporters and his coaches over the past few weeks that he's "feeling great" and ready to go. Tonight, I not only like the order spot, but the cheap price tag and the matchup against Homer Bailey. Bailey is a mediocre pitcher in an ace's body with an ace's contract. In this excellent hitter's park, I think Eaton and his .387 wOBA split against righties can do some damage tonight. I also like the fact that several of his teammates have plus-plus matchups, which could lead to Eaton crossing home a few times.
Aaron Judge - OF, NYY @ TOR (FD - $4,200)
Pitcher Aaron Sanchez has his strong moments, but things could get ugly in Toronto tonight if he's not able to locate his fastball or off-speed stuff tonight. The Yankees have a lineup that can clearly do damage 1-8 in the order and are a formidable stack, but my favorite target on the Bombers tonight is Aaron Judge. Judge made an absolute mockery (when he wasn't striking out) of right-handed pitching last season, posting Herculean like splits in wOBA (.440) and ISO (.330). With that in mind and the positive park situation (especially for March in Toronto), I like his chances of putting up big numbers tonight.
